Comment Re:road side illumination (Score 1) 187
The purpose of lights is to improve safety on high speed roads. Hence lighted highways. Otherwise, night time driving would have to be slowed significantly to be safe, unless you're driving with high beams.
Most of the UK's motorway network is not lit, and just about all of the dual carriageway network isn't either. In some places they're turned off after a certain time (usually about midnight). In quite a few places, they've got lights, but have stopped using them. You get used to it, and no one drives with full beams on. Technically you're allowed to use large A roads (not motorways) for all sorts of things because they're public rights of way, so you are allowed to walk down them, ride (either bike or horse) down them, even drive geese down them. The speed limit is 70mph, but generally people drive up to 80.